Chemotaxis

In the microbial world, one characteristic used to distinguish groups of organisms is motility: whether or not they can move on their own. Some organisms float happily in a soup of nutrients or remain stationary in sediments, their only motion due to forces outside their control. Other organisms can self-direct their movement. They adventure through the world in response to the call of a magnetic or electric field, a gradient of oxygen or acidity, or certain useful chemicals and food sources.

Chemotactic bacteria move in a series of "runs" and "tumbles". "Runs" are characterized by strong, steady swimming in one direction. "Tumbles" are moments where the bacterium abruptly changes the direction in which its flagella are rotating, causing it to tumble and slow, reorienting in the process. It then resumes its motion in whatever new direction it finds itself.However, this process is not always random. In fact, the bacterium will make longer runs and have fewer tumbles when it is moving in the direction of a chemical it's attracted to, aptly named a "chemoattractant".

I tend to anthropomorphize the microorganisms I study, and thus it makes sense that I turn that principle around sometimes and see myself as one of them. Throughout my undergraduate experience at the University of Washington, I have discovered that I belong firmly in the second category of organisms;I am a chemotactic bacterium. Instead of allowing my life to be directed by external forces, I have followed the chemoattractive trails of subjects I enjoy, directing my own motion, experiencing new and wonderful things along the path to graduation. Though that path has sometimes been winding and difficult, I have become an independent student who is unafraid to blaze my own trail in pursuit of what interests and excites me. Through this portfolio, I have been able to examine what drew me to certain subjects, what my chemoattractants are, and what I have gained through following their trails at the University of Washington. Just as a chemotactic bacterium has no idea what its final destination will be, it is almost impossible to visualize what the entire scope of a path looks like while you're on it. You have to get a different perspective, from above, before you can see how a road twists and winds from point A to point B. When I started at the UW, at my point A, I thought I was going to study opera and nursing. This portfolio affords me the perspective necessary to understand how I reached my point B: graduating with degrees in Microbiology and Medical Anthropology, applying to medical school. At the outset of my undergraduate career, I had no idea where my journey would take me or who I would become. This experience of reflecting on my own runs and tumbles has helped me understand not only what and where point B is, but also how and why I got here. Perhaps most useful of all, it allows me to examine my own choices strategically so I can understand how I can reach future goals with the same level of success and fulfillment as I have enjoyed in my undergraduate career.